california governor jerry brown will have the final say. >>> and here's a scoop for you. the mars curiosity rover is about to do a little digging. nasa says it will collect soil samples to learn if there were ever favorable conditions for microbial life. >>> and one of the top trending health stories right now on nbc news.com could cause some controversy. a new study finds that offering free birth control can dramatically lower the rate of abortion. researchers who gave women free birth krael nor three years saw cases of abortion drop 66 to 67% below the national level. this could impact this year's election. mitt romney has plenled to repeal the affordable care act which requires insurance to cover contraceptive costs. >>> and now to wall street. the dow closed at 13,575 after gaining 80 points yesterday. the s&p was up 10. the nasdaq added 14. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei inched up 38 points while in hong kong the hang seng climbed 104. >>> the s&p is on the cusp of a five year high and barring any big surprises from september's jo